Chapter two hundred and forty-ninth lounging raised his head (1)
The entire Daxing County government office is closed on exam day as the county exam begins, so naturally these meat-stuffed sesame biscuits are prepared the day before.
However, because the invigilator accompanying the county magistrate also used this sesame seed cake, perhaps to take care of his own people, when it was served, it was not cold, but warmed. However, due to the sloppy heating, it was not fully heated, and the outside was soft.
, it’s still a little hard inside.
I drank it with tea, but I felt a little choked and could barely swallow it.
Shen Rui had breakfast in the early morning, and he was really hungry. He ate three sesame seed cakes in one breath, then rinsed his mouth with tea and finished swallowing.
He glanced at the others with his eyes. Except for the first and second two who were eating meat-stuffed biscuits with a bit of piety on their faces, the other candidates all took the food they prepared in the test basket. Even one and two
People who were slightly interested in the food prepared by the county government tried to take a bite and then put it down.
Not all of them are spoiled and unaccustomed to eating outside. Some people are cautious, fearing that eating meat will cause gastrointestinal upset and affect the next exam, so they would rather eat the steamed buns or vegetarian pancakes they brought.
It was not until the end of the day (one o'clock in the afternoon) that the county magistrate, who had been away for more than half an hour, came back.
His eyes moved around each plate on the table, and when he saw Shen Rui's right hand, his eyes were a little cold.
That was a primary school student from Chunshan Academy. He took a bite of the meat-filled sesame cake and spit it out. Half of the spit-out teeth of the sesame cake were placed on the plate.
The first candidate used two, the second candidate used one sesame seed cake, and Shen Rui used three.
The magistrate's eyes paused on Shen Rui's table and his eyebrows moved.
Shen Rui has already begun to write and copy the second article.
When he put down his pen, he looked up and met the magistrate's eyes.
The magistrate nodded to Shen Rui, and Shen Rui quickly nodded in return.
Although he told himself that the possibility was slim, Shen Rui couldn't help but think more.
He was hesitating whether to hand in the paper first, when the young classmate in the seat on his right had already stood up, and then there was movement behind him.
It seems that the students from Nancheng Academy have taken the lead, and the students from Chunshan Academy are unwilling to submit their papers today.
Seeing this, Shen Rui also collected his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, followed behind his two classmates, and became the third candidate to hand in the paper.
Still guided by the officials, the three classmates went to the wing where they were waiting to open the door yesterday.
A young classmate said: "I wonder if the ranking will change tomorrow?"
Another person added: "The county magistrate should know how to rank the candidates. Otherwise, if the outcome is determined by one test, why bother taking five tests?"
When the man in front heard this, he said with expectation: "I hope this can happen." After saying this, he said with annoyance: "It's just because he is a few years older than me. If we can wait until sixteen or seven."
In the end, where will it be their turn to take the lead?"
Before he finished speaking, the man next to him had already begun to cough. He glanced at Shen Rui and kept winking at the young man.
However, the young boy did not understand his classmates' intentions and continued: "Senior brothers, at this age, we are all preparing for autumn."
Shen Rui just didn't hear it, and the young boy later realized that he had made a mistake.
He was talking about the ages of the first and second candidates, but he also mentioned Shen Rui, who was two years older than his classmates. He had always been arrogant, and he was not necessarily convinced by Shen Rui, who was ranked third, so he changed his mind.
If you go too far, just pretend that you don't know that you are being rude.
The top ten candidates in the "first round" are all outstanding candidates who have been selected.
After a while, two more candidates came out, the two candidates ranked first and second.
The five people belong to two academies respectively. They have different paths and do not seek each other. They have nothing to say to each other.
Fortunately, the candidates at the back were not slow in answering the questions. After waiting for two quarters of an hour, the remaining five candidates also came out.
Today's "top cards" are the top ten from yesterday's first show.
Calculating the time, it is not correct now, half an hour earlier than yesterday's "showing off".
The red-clad yamen servants were still playing and beating, and the ten candidates were escorted out of the examination room with the sound of drums.
After Shen Rui got on his carriage, he thought about the magistrate of Daxing County.
Because Daxing County is a capital county, it is a yamen of the sixth rank. Although the parents of Daxing County are called county magistrates, they are not of the seventh rank, but of the sixth rank.
Since he is a sixth-grade official, he cannot be directly selected after passing the Jinshi examination. He is most likely recommended by the Outstanding Department of the magistrate after completing his term of office.
To be elected as the magistrate of Jingxian County, he must have had political achievements in the past, but he must have no backers, so he was placed in such a position where he could easily take the blame.
They are both parents and officials. Jingyin is in hot vacancy, while Jingxian is in hot vacancy and cannot be avoided.
Even if the powerful people in Beijing seek connections and sell favors, they will go to the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen, not the two Beijing County Yamen.
Shen Rui wanted to ask people to inquire about the magistrate of Daxing County, but he gave up the idea when he thought that there were many people in the capital and he was a candidate. It would be better to do less than to do more.
Let's watch the next scene, Shen Rui said to himself secretly.
Back home, although the third master asked a few questions, he did not ask Shen Ruimu to write an article like yesterday. Shen Rui entered the top ten in the "first game", so this county examination should be fine.
On the other hand, the Xu family had already heard the report from the steward and knew that Shen Rui was among the top ten in the "first show". He smiled and said: "It seems that we are preparing red envelopes. Someone will come to congratulate you tomorrow..."
Shen Rui had heard about this custom before. For the top ten candidates in each test, the county government would arrange for personnel to go to the candidates' residence to "congratulate them".
Shen Rui said: "A bowl of hot water costs fifty cents for tea. More than two hundred candidates received it one by one, which makes it more than ten thousand dollars. This does not include the snacks sold in the examination room... I wonder if this is still the case today? What else?
This congratulations, red envelope, and county government examination will bring a lot of benefits..."
Xu said: "This is the custom. County examinations are held every year. Every ten days, if there is not a little bit of oil and water, the people in the county government will not be happy... If there are really poor children, they will turn a blind eye, no
Dare to extort too much..."
Shen Rui thought about the fact that the boy from the Tu family didn't bring any money and was almost forced into debt, so he knew that Mrs. Xu had overestimated the integrity of those people.
The young man was an honest man, and he only wanted to pay back his forty pennies.
Although Shen Rui had no contempt for the young man, he would really have the time to wait outside the examination room for the young man to pay back the money.
Early the next morning, not long after the elder arrived at the Yamen, the county government's "congratulatory" team arrived.
They were the ones who sent Shen Rui and others to "show off" the previous two times. Judging by their clothes, they were supposed to be county government officials and guest drummers.
They played and chatted all the way into Renshoufang, followed by many gangsters and urchins who were watching the fun.
When we arrived at the alley of Shen Zhai, the sound of drum music became louder and louder, and the neighbors were alarmed.
The third master brought Shen Rui to the scene, thanked everyone for their "congratulations" and gave them "tea money".
Even though they were coming from the Shangshu Mansion, all the government officials held their breath and kept silent, but they were not soft-hearted when collecting the "tea money". After collecting it once, they started to cheer again, until the third master gave another "tea money". "The leader was full of auspicious words and led the government servants to the next house.
Everyone in Renshoufang, who was provoked by this team of government servants, knew that Mr. Shen Shangshu took the county examination this year and got the red list.
The eldest man is a kind-hearted person, and the Xu family has always been considerate in everything they do. The two of them are in charge of the family, and there is no shame among the neighbors.
I didn't know before, but now that they know Shen Rui is taking the exam, the female relatives from all the families come to congratulate him.
Now that the county examination has not yet ended, how can Mrs. Xu be so generously congratulated by everyone? One family after another persuaded her to go back, saying that the child has just taken the examination now, and there is nothing to see, so it is hard to spare the neighbors and wait for a few months. If everything goes well, we'll invite everyone over for a drink.
After everyone heard this, they knew what was going on. They all knew what was going on after the college exam, so they just said they would wait for Xu's post.
When Shen Luo was here, he was also on the "red list" in the county examination, and the Shen family also served wine after the hospital examination.
Now that there are successors to the Shen family, some people cannot help but think of Shen Luo, who died young, and compare them with the two brothers. Back then, Shen Luoying was full of energy and a good child, but after all, he was a nephew, not a son, and his behavior was not similar to that of Shen Shangshu and the Xu family.
Today, this heir-apparent behaves like Shen Shangshu. Although he is taciturn in public, he looks polite and polite. It seems that he has followed Shen Shangshu's gentle temperament.
Even the Xu family felt a little depressed because the county government's team announcing the good news remembered Shen Luo back then.
In the evening, when the elder came back from the Yamen, he saw that his wife had a strange look on her face. He sighed and said, "But do you think of Brother Luo?"
Shen Luo participated in the boy's examination in the tenth year of Hongzhi's reign. She was second in the county examination, and was the "first in the case" in both the government examination and the hospital examination.
Even though he didn't like the way the second master and second wife behaved, Shen Luo was worthy of being a descendant of the Shen family.
Mrs. Xu was silent for a while and said: "Today is February 17th. If Brother Luo is still here, he will take the exam after the exam... It's all fate. Now Sister Ying has also gone south. I just hope that the children will be well..."
Although the couple was pleased with Shen Rui's studiousness and self-improvement, they felt a little anxious now that this was the first step in the imperial examination career.
Others don't know, but only the couple know that the eldest master was promoted to minister last year, which is a happy event for the Shen family. However, the minister's hand is not as good as that of the previous minister, and the official duties are also heavy. Although the Ministry of Punishment ranks second to last among the six departments, it can All case files involve laws and human lives, which cannot be ignored, and the lord is a person with extremely heavy responsibilities.
Even ordinary people will be exhausted when they reach the age of destiny, not to mention that the elder's body is weaker than ordinary people.
Over the past six months, the eldest man has been very tired. He fell ill twice after winter last year.
"Brother Rui is a strong boy. If you push yourself hard, you will be able to support the family in just a few years..." The eldest man comforted his wife.
Although Mrs. Xu felt sorry for her husband, she also knew that the second master of the Shen family was out of Beijing, and her nephew was still young, so she relied on the eldest son to support her. It was a fantasy to ask the eldest son to retire from work, so she stopped nagging. It was just that she felt extremely sour in her heart. But she didn't want to show it in front of her husband, so she turned her head and whispered: "Fortunately, I chose Brother Rui...
Although she felt sorry for Shen Rui, time did not wait for us, so she had to force Shen Rui to grow up quickly.